Author: TechBrunch

A federal appeals court has voted unanimously to uphold a law that could ban TikTok in the United States unless the social network separates itself from Chinese ownership. The decision comes seven months after TikTok filed a lawsuit against the federal government over the ban. Friday's appeals court ruling rejected TikTok's argument that the law violates the U.S. Constitution's promises to free speech and individual liberties. “The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States,” the court's opinion states. “Here, the government acted solely to protect its freedoms from a foreign adversary and to limit that adversary's…

According to the Financial Times, OpenAI is considering doing away with a clause that locks out leading partner and investor Microsoft's cutting-edge technology when it comes to making artificial general intelligence (AGI) a reality. Under current rules, OpenAI's board of directors will decide when OpenAI creates an AGI, which the startup defines as “a highly autonomous system that outperforms humans at the most economically valuable tasks.” That will happen. Removing this provision would allow Microsoft to continue accessing and investing in OpenAI's technology even after AGI. According to the Financial Times, a final decision has not yet been taken by…

AI agent startup /dev/agents has announced a massive $56 million seed round, valuing the company at a whopping $500 million. This amount is impressive considering the company won't have the first version of its product available until at least early next year. But the reason behind investor confidence becomes a little more clear when you consider the founder's pedigree. Both co-founders of /dev/agents worked on Google's Android team during the early smartphone era. This round was the first of many deals discussed on today's episode of TechCrunch's stocks podcast, as well as whether to include the “slash” when pronouncing the…

Spotify Wrapped isn't the only service offering year-end recaps these days. In addition to year-end reviews from other streamers and social apps, Google Photos is one of the apps that allows users to look back at important moments from the past year. The feature '2024 Recap' features a collection of memories, insights and photos, with the option to add AI captions. Google says the latter feature is available to some users in the United States. Users who choose to use AI in their photos will be able to add personalized captions to their photos, generated by Google's Gemini AI model.…

Former NBA Lakers star Metta Sandiford-Artest (formerly known as Metta World Peace) has teamed up with former Boost Mobile CEO Stephen Stokols to launch True, a company aiming to invest in sports and health tech. It is reported that Sky Ventures has been launched. Sportico. The company wants to raise $100 million and write the first formal check for Barcode, the performance drinks company founded by former New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers performance director Mubarak Malik, Sportico reported. This news comes after more athletes are entering the venture capital field. Just last month, Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo…

Back in the hectic days of 2021, Heartcore Capital had plans to raise $200 million and focus on consumer technology. Fast forward to 2024, and its latest fund “leaves sustenance” for the paper, with a new injection of $180 million (€170 million) to make it broader and more comprehensive than its earlier paper. You will be performing general activities. Nearly 17 years into the game, Heartcore's Fund V continues to be founded in its early stages, and its portfolio now includes companies such as Boozt, Neo4j, Peakon, Tink, GetYourGuide, TravelPerk, and Podimo. It aims to be the first institutional investor…

Ride-hailing giant Uber and Chinese self-driving technology company Willide have launched a commercial robotaxi service in Abu Dhabi. The launch marks Uber's first international self-driving car offering. Uber has partnerships with self-driving car companies across areas such as ride-hailing, delivery and trucking. Other partners include Wayve, Serve Robotics, Aurora Innovation, Waabi, and more. Still, investors are wary that incumbents like Uber won't be able to compete with companies building technology like Waymo and potentially Tesla. Uber stock fell nearly 10% on Thursday after Waymo announced plans to launch a robotaxi service in Miami. This is despite the fact that true…

Fly Ventures, a Berlin-based venture capital firm that invests in seed-stage startups in the European enterprise and deep tech space, has launched its third fund with €80 million. The company raised its last funding of 53 million euros in 2020. The company targets technology founders and claims that Fund III was oversubscribed and raised in one closing. Meanwhile, the slight increase in fund size reflects the company's desire to operate as a boutique firm. Matuschka told TechCrunch: More and more people are making this type of investment these days, but our strategy is to make this type of investment 2-3…

Indian financial services startup MobiKwik has reduced the size of its planned IPO for the third time, setting a price range of ₹265-279 ($3.1-$3.3) and a valuation of 250,000 yen. This amounted to $1,000,000, a significant drop from the previous undisclosed valuation. In 2021, it will reach $924 million. The Gurugram-based fintech company, backed by Peak The amount is less than that. The IPO will open on December 11th and shares will begin trading on December 11th. December 18th. The 15-year-old startup operates one of the most widely used mobile wallet apps in India. But UPI, a government-backed protocol, has…

GitLab, the popular developer and security platform, has named Bill Staples as its new CEO, effective immediately. Staples, who has also been appointed to the company's board of directors, will replace CEO Sid Sibrandi, who is battling a rare type of cancer. Mr. Sigibrandi will assume the position of Chairman of the Board. “I believe [Bill’s] “His passion for software, commitment to customers, and strong track record make him the right person to lead the company going forward,” Sigibrandi said in a statement. “Now is the perfect time to focus on cancer treatment and health.” Staples previously served as CEO…